Media & Public Relations

Binghamton University TEDx conference set for Mar. 11

2012-03-05

BINGHAMTON, NY – Speakers, visionaries and performers will gather on the Binghamton University campus on Sunday, Mar. 11, to participate in TEDxBinghamtonUniversity, and to promote and stimulate conversation about how to spread and put good ideas to work.

Beginning at 2 p.m. in the Osterhout Concert Theater in the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts, the inaugural TEDxBinghamtonUniversity is an independently organized event, liencensed by TED and is one of the largest of its kind among the thousands held worldwide each year. An audience of over 1,000 is expected to attend to listen to seven prestigious speakers from different fields present their “ideas worth spreading.” Each speaker will give a 15-18 minute lecture about a topic of their choice related to their academic or professional field.

The line-up includes:

Suzanne Seggerman, who is the co-founder and former president of Games For Change, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing about social change and learning through video games. She is also an award-winning international activist, and has served as a high-ranking advisor in Michelle Obama’s Healthy Kids Campaign. Her talk is titled “Games are Growing Up.”

Sharon Salzberg is the co-founder of Insight Meditation Society (IMS) and author of best-selling book, Real Happiness. She has been a major motivating force in the American meditation movement. Salzberg will speak about meditation techniques and personal outlook, and will conduct a guided meditation with the entire audience during her presentation, “Transform Your Mind, Change the World.”

Owen Pell is an international human rights litigator and Binghamton University alum. Pell has also served as a legal advisor for countries such as Poland and Bulgaria. He will be speaking about his experiences as a litigator in his talk, titled “Diplomacy 2.0.”

Steven Kurtz is an artist and professor of art at SUNY Buffalo. He is well known for his work in Bioart, a project in which art is created from bacteria, living tissue, and other biological matter. Kurtz is also well known for his work using electronic civil disobedience, and promoting social criticism. His talk is titled “Beyond Enterprise.”

Al Biles is a professor of interactive games and media at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in Rochester. He is also a musician, and a mathematician. Using his wide range of skills, Biles created GenJam, a program that listens to his trumpet playing and then creates a quintet to play along. He will be explaining how this program works and performing live during his talk, “GenJam’s Journey: From Tech to Music.”

Leigh Ann Wheeler is a professor of history and women’s studies at Binghamton University. She has spent her career dedicated to understanding the nature of sexual culture throughout the twentieth century and into today. Wheeler is also the co-editor for the Journal of Women’s History, and is putting the finishing touches on her book, Making Liberties. She will be presenting her idea worth spreading in her talk, “Why Women’s History Matters.”

Harvey G. Stenger is the seventh president of Binghamton University, and has been in the education field for almost 25 years. Previous to his position at Binghamton, he worked as an interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Buffalo. Stenger is also a doctor of chemical engineering, and has a lot to say about the future of technology and higher learning. His talk is titled “The Cloud Grant University: When Higher Education Meets High Tech.”

For a more complete picture of what a TED talk looks like, visit TED.com. Tickets are available online at bingtickets.com or on the Binghamton University campus for $5 in the Food Court on Wednesday Mar. 7; and from noon to 4 p.m. in the Tillman lobby on Thursday, Mar. 8. Those interested in purchasing tickets but cannot make these dates are encouraged to contact the organizers at BingTEDx@gmail.com. For additional information, visit http://www.TEDxBingU.com

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About TEDx, x = independently organized event:

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED:

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. Started as a four-day conference in California 25 years ago, TED has grown to support those world-changing ideas with multiple initiatives. The annual TED Conference invites the world's leading thinkers and doers to speak for 18 minutes. Their talks are then made available, free, at TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Isabel Allende and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The annual TED Conference takes place in Long Beach, California, with simulcast in Palm Springs; TEDGlobal is held each year in Edinburgh, UK. TED's media initiatives include TED.com, where new TEDTalks are posted daily, and the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as the ability for any TEDTalk to be translated by volunteers worldwide. TED has established the annual TED Prize, where exceptional individuals with a wish to change the world are given the opportunity to put their wishes into action; TEDx, which offers individuals or groups a way to organize local, independent TED-like events around the world; and the TEDFellows program, helping world-changing innovators from around the globe to become part of the TED community and, with its help, amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.